Hi. We are a design/style LA based company specializing in mixing eclectic styles on moderate budgets. Also we have a strange amount of fun blogging about all our design and style adventures. Right now I’m happy to say that I’m Target’s home spokesperson, bringing accessible/stylish design to the masses.

Could You Go Without?...

Kitchens With No Uppers: Insanely Gorgeous or Just Insane?

There’s something happening in kitchen design lately that’s both perplexing and exciting. More and more, we’re seeing kitchens with no upper cabinets (so just lower cabinets with either a full wall of tile/stone or just a short backsplash). In our 2018 kitchen design trends post from earlier this year, we dove into this subject a little (heck, we went as far as to proclaim 2018 “the year of no upper cabinets”)…and we haven’t been able to stop thinking/talking about it since.

What is it about this look that we can’t seem to quit? Well, for one, it’s just so sleek and easy on the eyes. It reminds us of uncomplicated, effortless Parisian kitchens – you know, the kind that you just sit in sipping a cafe au lait and noshing on a big honkin’ pain au chocolat while you breeze through the Sunday paper, no cares in the world besides all the crumbs from your pastry. To put it in more food terms, a “no uppers” kitchen is like the perfect plate of cacio e pepe – it’s just pasta, pasta water and a whole heap of cracked black pepper and parmesan cheese…so simple yet kind of mindblowing.

Of course, the BIG GIGANTIC TOPLESS ELEPHANT in the room is the matter of practicality and functionality. Sure, this looks beautiful and minimal and in an age when we’re getting blasted with information and graphics and videos and GIFs and emojis all day and all night on social (and the internet as a whole), it’s SO SO nice to have a moment of pause and quiet at home, at least aesthetically. But…WHERE DO YOU STORE EVERYTHING?? Look, this style of kitchen isn’t for everyone, we get that. We’re not even saying it’s necessarily for us, but it’s nice to dream about and discuss, so discuss it we shall.

You might be thinking, “but where on earth would I keep my collection of mismatched novelty mugs with sayings like ‘This Might Be Wine’ and ‘Allergic To Mornings’?” We have the same questions (possible answers later on in this post), but for now, let’s take a look at how we even got to this level of minimalism in the home’s most utilitarian space.

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Did your eye start twitching at the phrase “kitchen with no upper cabinets”? Perhaps this is more comfortable for you:

Yes, this kitchen – everything from the sagey green color and the floor-to-ceiling tilework to the brass detailing – is pretty swoony, and we get WHY both upper and lower cabinetry is the standard…it works for most people and helps you tuck away all your cooking/dining/entertaining sundries.

When you have this amount of cabinetry to hide away your cacophony of assorted kid-friendly plastic dinnerware and hodgepodge of assorted glassware, it’s hard to imagine wanting to somehow give that up for…more visual wall space? Wait…why??

So then, of course, there’s the next iteration of the kitchen. Glass-front cabinets are NOT new. In fact, we’re pretty sure they’re really old, but at some point in the early- to mid-aughts, these babies were everywhere. Where previous decades preferred 34″ cabinets in solid front honey oak or clad in Formica, the 2000s rebelled with heavy cherry wood. It was the look du jour – you were nothing if you didn’t have the combo of cherry cabinets + black granite + stainless-front appliances. If you were in the business of remodeling your kitchen around this time, there basically was no other option..this was the one and only trend to buy into. But that onslaught of dark, sultry cherry left room for something a little lighter to break up the denseness of that look…ladies and gentleman, here comes the glass-front cabinet to save the day.

I opted for a handful of glass-front cabinets in my own kitchen. While a white kitchen is already pretty airy on its own, the grated glass feels open and welcoming.

Without the heft of solid front cabinets, all of a sudden a space breathes. Your plates and whatnot are kept away from dust and grease and all the other stuff that flies around a kitchen somehow, but you have the ability to display your prettiest china. Lower units are for storing all that not-great-looking stuff…after all, who doesn’t need a junk drawer/cabinet that’s in plain sight but also hidden from the judging eyes of the world.

But, just when we were getting comfortable showing off SOME of our stuff…

…open floating shelving made its appearance.

Open shelving can be a bit controversial. THE DUST! THE GRIME! Where do you keep all your ugly (but necessary for cooking) things?? Sure, it looks pretty great, but…is it practical?

It is if you do an audit of anything you kept overhead, brutally offing anything that wouldn’t look great out in the open (this is not a bad thing folks – we all hang on to things we definitely don’t need in our lives). Take a second and think about what you’re storing high up in the eaves of your upper cabinets…can you even remember without going to look? I dare you to name five things you know FOR SURE are there…and then ask yourself when was the last time you used that stuff. If it takes a step ladder to get to, likely, this is not everyday stuff.

A few rows of wood shelves gave the appearance of a “chef’s” kitchen. A dash of industrial with a peppering of homey. Nothing too elaborate…just enough storage for what you use on a very regular basis…

AND THEN CAME JUST THE ONE SHELF. I mean, look at this:

Don’t you envy the minimalism? To think that anything you need/want can fit in a few deep drawers, cabinets and ONE SHELF. This feels like the breakfast bar at a super chic European hotel (and it actually is a hotel, but in Philadelphia, not Copenhagen). Granted, in a shade of blue like that, you could staple brown paper Trader Joe’s bags to the wall and it’d still be a looker.

The “just one shelf” kitchen quietly sneaked onto the scene a few years back and likely unsuspectingly took over your Pinterest and Instagram feeds. It’s like all those crazy brows people were trying and then posting photos of – remember ?? the internet never ceases to amaze. It was great for digital content, gave us something to talk about/snark at/dream about (well, it’s still up for debate whether anyone was out there dreaming of walking around with crazy braided brows), but it wasn’t REAL LIFE…or was it?

And as everything in design (and life) does, the “one shelf kitchen” evolved even further into a kitchen with literally no storage above the waist. Not a shelf. Not a rail. Nothing but unencumbered wall.

It would appear that the only real-life way to make this style of kitchen work is: #1 if you don’t own a plethora of garlic presses/avocado slicers/serving bowls and really don’t cook that much and/or #2, you build in storage elsewhere in your kitchen (like the storage appliance surround in the photo above). It’s not necessarily less storage in this case, it’s just reconfigured storage for a more streamlined look. We dig it and could definitely get on board.

If you’ve been thinking this must be a regional design thing, well, you’re probably not wrong. This kitchen, as well as a handful of others like it in this photo roundup, are either in Europe or in cities like New York where space comes at a huge premium. With more access to takeout dining options (i.e. less cooking), the form vs. function debate doesn’t carry much weight. If you don’t need a ton of kitchen space because your home cooked meals are actually just bowls of cereal, it makes sense to not plug up walls with bulky cabinets directly in your line of sight.

Having limited or zero uppers means you can have all kinds of fun with lighting placement. Sconce lovers rejoice!

It also means a few additional pros:

It’s an excuse to PURGE. That lobster-shaped platter you bought for that one Memorial Day BBQ four years ago, come on…you know you’re never using that again. DONATE. The set of kind-of shabby plates you managed to hang on to for a decade that actually belonged to an old roommate (and you’re not sure how you even ended up with them). GET RID OF THEM. Kitchens with limited cabinetry serve our inner Marie Kondo.

Renovating can actually cost less. Think about it – you only need a portion of the materials/labor. Now, when you streamline a design, the elements that do remain need to be quite special and spectacular, otherwise you risk looking like you just kind of gave up on construction/design halfway through. You don’t want that.

If your home has really stunning architecture (wood-clad ceilings, beams, intricate moldings), a lowers-only kitchen will let all that gorgeousness shine, without stopping the eye halfway up the wall to look at some big hunks of cabinets.

And for anyone convinced this is only for contemporary spaces, here’s proof that this is not correct:

The addition of a vintage armoire or china cabinet solves some problems here (mainly where to store drinkware), but cabinet companies and even places like IKEA have SUCH smart options to make this look work if you’re into it. From specialty dividers and organizers to hidden interior drawers, it’s definitely much easier these days to have a super efficient kitchen with less bulk.

SO, we have to ask…what do you guys think about a kitchen without uppers? Do you LOVE IT and could see yourself downsizing to something similar or do you think it’s a completely insane proposition? Let’s hear it!

As a person who cooks 3 or 4 times a week, I use those upper cabinets to house a lot of my oils/herbs. Uppers have been absolutely necessary for my system.

That being said, my kitchen is super tiny right now and I suppose if I had super intentional organization on just the lowers I could still cook with a system. But all of that huge wasted wall space makes me feel wasteful. I am also a borderline maximalist so maybe that’s part of my issue. 🙂

I totally get where you’re coming from. I’m a kitchen gadget junkie, so the idea of limiting my storage pains me…BUT IT LOOKS SO NICE & CLEAN! Right now, I’m definitely enjoying dreaming that I could be minimal enough to make this work, but in real life, I’m clutching my two garlic presses and immersion blenders.

I really love how a kitchen without uppers look. They are calm and aesthetically pleasing. I love how open they can make a kitchen look. Having lived for a short while in an apartment without upper cabinets I can soundly say it’s not for me. Even though I only kept out daily use items, they still got coated in a fine film of what I can only describe as oily dust. Having to bend down for EVERYTHING was seriously grating. I will admit the kitchen was tiny-tiny (6’x7’) with no ventilation. But it bugged me enough I actually stopped cooking. And I loving cooking. I’ve since bought a house and reonovated the kitchen. I designed it myself with as many upper cabinets as I could fit in and pan drawers in the lower cabinets. I couldn’t be happier and back to loving cooking and baking again.

hi emily, i haven’t had uppers (cabinets) for 30 years and never felt desire for them. my husband has every pot and pan – and kitchen gadget/appliance- in the book (is there a book of pots and pans?) and it all gets put away somehow.
uppers, don’t need ’em!

If I had the space, sure, I could see replacing some of my uppers with open shelves. But alas, ours is a small galley kitchen with way too little storage in the first place. As far as the no shelves or uppers trend is concerned – whatever floats your boat. But it wouldn’t be a choice for me. It just looks too bland and boring, unbalanced even. Almost a little like they ran out of cash to buy cabinets.

I love the idea of no uppers if what I’ve got instead are amazing windows (or even mediocre windows). If it’s a big wall of tile and sconces…no. Also, we cook in our kitchen, so I would need/want a cabinet or hutch or butler’s pantry (Let’s go with butler’s pantry, k?) Interesting post, btw!!

In our kitchen remodel the number one goal for me was MORE Windows and so I opted to give up all my uppers to add tons of Windows and rearranged my main house floor plan to accommodate a kitchen with enough base cabinets to make sacrificing the uppers doable. Everything fits, we don’t have open shelves and keep nothing on our counter. Are base cabinets are all drawers making it super smooth and easy to find stuff. I love it. Biggest unexpected benefit of no uppers is my 3 and 5 year old girls can completely unload and put away an entire dishwasher load of dishes without my help because they can reach EVERYTHING!

I agree Peggi. We’re building a home and I designed the kitchen with a walk-in pantry and a wall of windows in place of the uppers. The lowers will be drawers. I need the light more than the storage. It helps that we’re empty nesters and don’t need quite as much.

Yes totally agree!! I would want an awesome alternative to a blank wall, windows 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻. And probably a cabinet or shelf for glasses. After all you reach for them throughout the day. As long as the items in view get used all the time there’s no need for tons of dusting I would think.. just wipe it down before you unload the dishwasher. Personally I like the open shelves, it’s form and function. And if you do one eliminating the uppers you’d have to do at least two sets of base cabinets with shallow drawers, 8 total to hold all your spices and glasses and utensils and plates and cutlery. That would be a lot of bending..

A wall of Windows with a pretty view is the ONLY reason I’d give up all that closed storage. I’ve kept crystal hostess ware on top of my uppers in the past, and as someone mentioned, I had to scrub off a layer of “oily dust” before I could use them.

Good morning 🙂 Those No-Uppers kitchens look like they are trying too hard. I’m willing to bet the other rooms in those homes don’t have big blank walls. I think it looks empty and unfinished – if you’re treating it less like a kitchen then hang some art, please, maybe? The pendulum has swung.

I’ve been planning our kitchen for the last 6 months and our new kitchen won’t have any upper cabinets either. I’m a sucker for the minimalist look! And one large wall will have 5 windows in lieu of upper cabinets. I think it will be dreamy! The only way I think we can pull it off as a family of 6 is that the space is double what we currently have now, so that means more lower cabinets. Otherwise, there’s no way I could function without more storage! I’m a big fan over here of the no uppers! Love these photos you posted! 😍😍😍

Yeah, I think that whole “double the space” thing is key, especially for functionality if you have a ton of kitchen goods. The rooms that look like they work best have a heap of lower cabinets and drawers (and maybe even built-in floor-to-ceiling pantries). Sounds like your five windows will be TOTALLY dreamy.

Two years ago, we gutted the first floor of our 1920s home and moved the kitchen from a tiny closet-like space into what was the formal dining room. Due to window placement and our desire for unobstructed views from the family/dining room to the kitchen, we had to do without almost all upper cabinets (aside from one over the fridge and one over our double ovens). We put in a large walk-in pantry and were very strategic with the lower cabinet design/inserts, and I have to say, we don’t regret the decision at all! My husband (who does most of the cooking) is 6’7″ and was originally horrified at the thought of having to bend down to reach things. However, there have been no complaints since, especially since we used drawers which are easier on his back! We used tile on the walls (all the way up to the ceiling) to provide some visual interest and most people don’t even notice the lack of upper cabinets. We also put cabinets on both sides of our large peninsula to maximize storage.

I don’t love this look. I find the cabinets to be the most beauiful and statementmaking part of a kitchen and without them it just feels unfinished. It’s like the “modern traditional” look: i can appreciate the look in a picture but it doesn’t feel invinting.

I feel like we’re doing a mind meld: the big things I’m considering with our current 2 full bath reno and impending kitchen reno- you guys are writing about and are unknowingly helping me strongly consider every little aspect of these projects. These our our first renos and still, I haven’t relinquished anything to a designer or GC: and I’m loving- LOVING! the results because I’ve so considered every little element given my morning interior design seminars I’ve been pouring over: like this one.

I’m so over upper cabinets and the excess they represent in our rowhouse! I’ve started the purge and it feels great. My husband isn’t so sure, but I am. We’ve been successful to some extent with ongoing editing of the cabinets, but still: in our considered house, there’s still a ridiculous excess of stuff. It’s got to go and this upcoming kitchen reno without upper cabinets is a great excuse to get the hidden clutter our of our space. It just feels like a better energy all around.

I kinda think that’s not the greatest idea. Unless they are air tight! A kitchen floor is so high traffic that it’s in my experience, the dirtiest floor in the house! I constantly clean and am amazed how much dirt and grime is always there. You would have to rewash before every use.

Good to hear that you like how it’s turning out! I’m excited to be planning a kitchen, but also intimidated. I keep thinking I need a pro to glance over my shoulder and offer a few suggestions, or just say it’s fine.

I love the idea of toe-kick drawers and plan to use them for cookie sheets & the like. I don’t use them that often, I’ll store them upside down, and will probably wipe them with a damp dishcloth before using them.

I did toe kick cabs in my tiny house and I love them. Admittedly, your limited in what you can put in there. Cookie sheets, foil roll, platters. Didn’t seem to get any dirtier than the other cabinets at all.

I love kitchens with no uppers – so airy and spacious and opulent. I think they work especially well in open plan homes so that the kitchen blends into the living space seamlessly and doesn’t dominate.

To be successful I think there needs to be a purge of all kitchen items no longer required. Only what you really use and really need. Don’t hang onto stuff you don’t love – aka the Marie Kondo method of “Does it spark joy?”

Also, the lower cabinets can be large, deep draws which hold a tonne of stuff making upper cabinets redundant. If you have draws that pull out all the way, items aren’t mislaid at the back .

I also really like a kitchen with a shelf. A brilliant place to display that antique teapot, milk jug and sugar pot that you will never use for fear of breaking but love to look at.

I think that the only thing that would make me get on board with no upper cabinets in a kitchen would be beautiful windows instead. The blank space wall looks boring and unfinished. But windows? That would be dreamy!

Haha, I find the comment on “if you don’t cook much” and “most of these are in Europe” really amusing, as americans cook way less than europeans. You make do with the space you have available to you, thats all. 😄

Agreed! I also think its true to say that many Europeans don’t buy food in bulk – rather daily / bi-weekly – and therefore don’t need the same amount of food storage space. Of course supermarkets are used but so are markets (not just farmers markets) as well as corner shops for the odd top up.

Also – the kitchen is mainly used for kitchen crockery/china and if you have have a dining room the best stuff is kept in the sideboard. Baking trays and pans are stored inside the oven itself. Maybe we just have less “stuff”? Perhaps because it is more expensive to purchase? Not sure why … However, the net result is maybe Europeans / New Yorkers are less likely to need upper cabinets?

I’m curious about the perception you have that most Europeans cook more at home than Americans – could this be that you are comparing the average European household to the American households you’ve had the most exposure to – specifically those in large cities, or even just on TV? Many American households, especially those with children, cook almost exclusively at home and only go out for meals on special occasions. I grew up in a midwestern American house where my mom self-proclaimed that she “didn’t cook”, but we still made small easy meals at home (usually frozen foods or boxed pasta or rice mixes) way more often than we went out for food. I’m not saying that’s ideal, or that my experience is average, I just was surprised by your perception, and am curious if it’s actually true or just fed by media and the big cities in the US.

Jessie, I had the same question. Straight up curiosity and interest in the topic – no defensiveness. 🙂 I and most of my friends cook at home every single night. Our family eats out maybe once every 2 mos. I’d be interested to know where the perception comes from too. —out of pure curiosity/fascination!

Wow! Everyone really is different. Gulf Coast here, two working (by choice) parents, tons of evening activities. MUCH more efficient to eat out (not fast food, we’re very conscious of healthy eating). DH and I would flip if we had to shop, prep, cook and clean up regularly – that’s time away from “being in the moment” with family so we consider the cost worth the tradeoff. We all take half our meals home and finish them for lunch or another night, cook large family style meals at least one night a weekend. Have friends or family over for meals at least once a month; wouldn’t dream of giving up our fully built out and equipped kitchen as it sees heavy use throughout all holidays and serves everyone’s varied needs 24/7. In case anyone is interested, L-shaped counters/cabinets with multipurpose island and walk-in pantry; one wall of uppers with glass doors, one wall of windows. Not our design; we bought it this way; earlier comment struck me as perfect: (may be paraphrasing a little) “You make what you have work for you”.

We have a tiny kitchen and removed most of our upper cabinets a little over a year ago. Yes, we lost a lot of closed storage, but I would never, ever go back. The kitchen is such a delightful, open space that it now inspires us to cook and hang out in there (which we would never really want to do before). We’re just a bit more intentional with our kitchen-tool acquisitions, and we get along just fine.

I am all about uppers, I just don’t know how you’d store all the gadgets you need to seriously cook otherwise, however, as a gal who is 5’2 with a husband who is 5’5, the entire top shelf of our uppers is such a complete and utter waste. I understand that visually, the uppers going all the way to the ceiling is more appealing, but I can’t even reach those shelves WITH a step stool! You can totally tell short people live in our home because there’s nothing on the top shelf almost anywhere in the house lololol.

I think the single shelf is beautiful, but I’d likely spend more time than necessary always feeling like everything had to look perfectly curated, which could also drive me crazy. I’m a bit of a maximalist , so to me, no shelf looks so impersonal and unfinished, and a kitchen can be one of the MOST personal spaces in a home!

5’2″ girl here, and my trick for getting use out of my top shelves in my upper cabinets is to buy bins (baskets?) for that top shelf. The ones I got from The Container Store have a handle that sticks out on the front, and I can reach that handle easily to slide the whole basket out and access everything without a step-stool. This was a miraculous revelation for me, so I just thought I’d share!

Jessie, I am also 5’2″ but I am confused as to how you can reach the handles of these baskets without a step stool. If they stick out, how do you close the doors on the cabinets? How do you put items into the bin and then slide it out to access it while it’s still on the upper shelf? Have I misunderstood what you’ve said??

You should look into those metal inserts they make for uppers, you open the cabinet and can pull, from the bottom, the whole shelf/shelves out and down. Each shelf has 4 sides, some taller, the front side is short but enough to keep things from falling out. I saw them on a Houzz video for a shorter woman (maybe it was some actresses mom). But it totally solved the too short to reach the upper shelves problem.

I like to tell people I’m 5’3″ (more like 5’2.5″) so YES to this. In my last apartment, I had insanely high cabinets and the only stuff I kept in the top two shelves was just…stuff I literally never ever used. When I moved, I realized I was just hoarding stuff because I COULD, but if I had less upper cabinet space, I’d easily get rid of so much.

And I think for the one shelf, it’s just important to curate/edit down your glasses and dinnerware so you don’t drive yourself crazy. They definitely don’t have to be all white and clear glass either. Just a tight selection of pretty everyday things!

I agree that this look is very European. When we lived in Germany our kitchen did not have any uppers and it functioned beautifully but we had a double sided peninsula and a very large pantry and no kids. When we updated our kitchen (in the US) a few months ago we toyed with the idea of taking down the upper cabinets because we loved our kitchen in Germany but we decided we needed the storage more and I don’t regret it.

I love to design kitchen space. Recently I’ve been considering options for the elderly who want a space with style but involves less reach and bend. I started with trying to eliminate the upper cabinets. This article has given me some other considerations.

We did a reno 2 years ago and we took out all the uppers. I cook and bake a lot and think it’s actually more practical without uppers for heavy use because they always made my counter space feel more cramped and confining under the uppers. I like feeling like the kitchen is a beautiful room since I’m in there so much so it’s more like having long low furniture in there (and there’s some art on the walls) Now we did carve out space to add a pantry which makes it work for glassware and food/cans/spice storage etc but I have tons of gadgets/pans and they all fit in the lowers. I would never do uppers in the kitchen proper again but agree that a storage/pantry wall that’s floor to ceiling or separate pantry is part of how that can work. But it really makes it so enjoyable to be in a functional and beautiful kitchen without the uppers making the room feel smaller. And yes beautiful finishes add to that effect -we did gorgeous walnut cabinetry, pale Caesarstone counters, aged bronze hardware to be seamless- looking on the walnut and stunning Porcelanosa floor tile.

Oh my, your kitchen sounds gorgeous! I think eliminating uppers has grown in popularity because so many kitchens are wide open to a sitting area. When it’s practically part of the living room, the overall space may seem more balanced when one area isn’t covered in cupboards. In my kitchen, lower drawers with dividers and bins inside one floor-to-ceiling pantry cupboard (with drawers and shelves) provide enough storage. And my upper-less kitchen looks peaceful and pretty from the sitting area. (At least that’s true for the 25% of time that the counters are not covered with cereal boxes, bowls, spilled milk, open jar of peanut butter, and a half eaten sandwich that my kids have left. Some days I long for good old fashioned closed-off kitchen….) Not every kitchen would work without uppers, but where possible, it’s great!

I don’t have uppers. I do have some open shelves filled with platters and bowls I use daily. I have all drawers and lots of them in the lower cabinets so I have room to house all the ugly, reusable plastic lunch items for my seven children. Yep…nine of us. We rarely eat out so my kitchen works hard. I cook and bake all our meals. I LOVE the European slim-pickin’s look and would love to have that in another 15 years when my kids have flown the coop. Until then, I need the open shelves.

Shelby- I am relieved to hear you don’t regret your decision. My husband is also 6’7 and will soon be living without upper cabinets. I had been planning our kitchen for over a year, but was never completely happy with any of the proposed designs, as everything felt too cluttered and did not seem like it would make life easier. It finally occurred to me to use some of the space for a (small) walk in pantry, allowing me to forgo uppers and have fewer cabinets in the kitchen. Fewer cabinets will allow me to buy better quality materials and the pantry means that everything is accessible for our family of 6. I spend the vast majority of the day in this room and am so looking forward to having it be a place that functions and represents my aesthetic.
Emily- Any opinions/ideas for how to forgo recessed lighting in the kitchen?

I’m not a fan of recessed lighting. It’s fine sometimes, but I don’t like how it has become the default lighting. If you’re looking for options, Schoolhouse electric has some of the best options for flush mount and pendant lights for different architectural styles. For task lighting, I like to use the newer LED tape lights installed into a small groove that I carved out of the underside of the open shelves. It’s very bright light, but pointed down against the backsplash and countertops. There are also some good versions of track lights out there – Emily did a blog post on those just a couple weeks ago!

As long as the lower cabinets are efficiently laid out and there is a side pantry for food I’d love any of these options above. The only one I think is missing something is the last photo – it’s beautiful but I think it needs another wood element like a long shelf or a big piece of art to warm it up further.

We are a family that cooks almost every meal (probably eat out once a week for my sanity) and I admittedly tend to hoard kitchen, serving items, pans and useful gadgets – it’s the one area I have a hard time editing down since I use most if it 95% of the time. We cook and entertain a lot so it gets used. Even still I am into this look!

We recently renovated a small kitchen that opens up to a vaulted dining room and living room and we raised the 80’s drop ceiling, removed the giant fluorescent box light and took out the upper cabinets that hung over the peninsula. They were great storage but you have to bend down to look into the dining room and living room. I’ve reorganized a few items to account for the lost cabinetry but I don’t regret the decision to nix them one bit! It’s opened the house up in a great way and made a dark cramped space feel so much more open! We still have upper on the two surrounding walls but we kept them white like the walls with modern copper hardware and it’s just the right amount of pop without being visually heavy. My once small dark kitchen now feels open, light and spacious.

My mom is 4’10” so upper cabinets don’t make sense for her. She opted out for her kitchen remodel and the pantry serves as the store all – which my father has to fetch everything from :). It looks gorgeous.

I love the idea of 1 shelf or no shelf for a vacation home… somewhere you just don’t need ALL the stuff that comes with a full kitchen. I think it’d especially work well in an Airbnb house so guests just know immediately where the plates and glasses are. Not quite ready for it in my hard working Italian wife kitchen though, haha

Love the look! If I could have found a way to conjure up a pantry space I would have lost the uppers. When we redid our kitchen a couple of years ago we expanded the size, eliminated walls to make an open concept kitchen/living room/dining room. We limited the uppers to one wall and ran them to the ceiling. We used flat paneled white uppers and painted the walls to match so they don’t stand out. The lowers are wood.

I say it works for typical home life (i.e. you cook at least half the time) if you have enough space to create sufficient storage and if you have all drawers – doing squats to peer into lower cupboards is SO much more aggravating than opening an eye level upper, but lower drawers take care of that problem. It’s not for every home (what is?) but it could be really nice to delete the uppers from at least the most visible wall.

Fun walk through the recent evolution of kitchen trends! I removed the cabinet to the left of our sink window when we did a kitchen facelift so that the room breathes better. I’ve been planning to put 2 bracket shelves there and now am considering 1 instead (and also wondering if this shelf trend will date my kitchen so bad in 10 years lol)

I enjoy cooking and make dinner at home most nights, but just because you cook at home often doesn’t mean you need more cabinets/space. It’s more about smart space.
I’m currently renovating my kitchen and we are dong a single floating shelf, but lots of drawers so we have room to store all our cookware/spices/ingredients. We added a pantry beside the fridge and a narrow island with more drawers so we have all the space we need.
I think it’s often more an issue of too much stuff. If we could invest in a few high quality pieces and get rid of everything else I don’t think that it presents much of an issue. My kitchenaid mixer stays on the counter because it looks good and it gets used multiple times a week, same goes for my dutch oven.
I think having less space is just a great opportunity to really consider why you have what you have and get rid of anything you don’t need. I think small spaces are the most fun because of the challenge they present and having to be creative to make them work the best functionally and aesthetically.
(, my husband is a student, so we are on a major budget and not having uppers really helps cut cost:))

YES! I’ve always lived in cities where space didn’t come at a premium, and – people might virtually slap me for saying this – I’d always have a twinge of jealousy when I’d see studios or smaller homes/apartments online where the person who lived there just got SUPER creative with the space. I never had to stretch my brain to think up creative solutions, and I TRULY admire those who can turn 500 square feet into a home full of “why didn’t I think of that!” moments. Good luck with the renovation.

I have an MCM home with a wall of windows in the kitchen and no upper kitchen cabinets. The space issue was solved by having a very long kitchen island (with an eat-in area for stools) and extra large drawers. We also have a credenza in the dining room for serving dishes and a separate liquor cabinet. Honestly I love the way it looks and would definitely use the design again in the future.

I will say that I don’t consider homes with shelving as having no uppers. They are uppers; they’re just minimalist. They gather dust and grime and oil. They need to be cleaned. Go big or go home, people!

A possible compromise idea: Upper cabinets that rest on the counter and extend up to the ceiling.

We have two of these flanking our counter in our kitchen, with open space (and a range hood) in between. More open-feeling than traditional uppers, but has tons of storage. I love that I never feel like a cabinet is looming over me. Works for us!

I LOVE it! Always have (maybe I was ahead of the trend?). Actually, I either like no uppers OR uppers that come all the way down to the counter. I’m tall, so that awkward couple feet between counters and uppers is what I hate. However, for storage I do think it’s important to balance it with lots of cabinetry elsewhere. We’re planning our kitchen reno right now and we will have no uppers on the sink/oven walls, but floor-to-ceiling cabinetry (with a built-in fridge) on the third wall to accommodate. Oh! And our house is 1922 English cottage style bungalow, so it definitely works with all styles of houses!

I wonder how many of these “no upper” kitchens have more storage beyond the frame. Maybe one wall of no uppers that looks all sleek for the camera, then other walls or butler pantries or something with more storage space elsewhere. The photo above of the black cabinetry and gray stone/concrete (can’t tell) island has an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling cabinets in the background. I would guess there’s more to at least some of these spaces than the photos show.

This is a great point. In our research, though, we did come across A TON of kitchens with no other storage beyond the frame of the photo. It can happen, but the key is definitely either paring back stuff, or having REALLY SMART storage in the cabinets you do have/elsewhere in your home.

Most of the no upper kitchens were boring. Looking at a blank wall is too austere for me. Prison like. Now if the view were of a beach or a forest outside that would be different but other than that I’ll take my upper cabinets.

I think it only looks good if you don’t have a hood for exhaust, which most of us need. (Our house came with a downdraft range and it works ok but definitely pulls the flames so we get uneven cooking in large pans.) In that one image you have of the more traditional lowers with the antique armoire, all I can see is that big black block on the wall.

We have a narrow galley kitchen and here is what I am thinking could be great when we can renovate: all the appliances and sink along one wall, and shallower cabinets on the other side to open up the center aisle. Some of the shallow cabinets can go all the way to the ceiling. That should be enough storage that we have have no uppers on the appliance wall, which has a nice big window over the sink.

I could never never never do open shelving…not in a house, not with a mouse. Not in a box, not with a fox. I have glass uppers and they already make me kind of crazy with needing to ‘arrange’ stuff and frankly they are a hot mess right now. arranging + cleaning open shelves = loss of what little sanity i have remaining.

I agree with posters who say that getting rid of uppers to accomodate windows is a great choice – assuming you have plenty of well designed storage available elsewhere. But the big empty wall look is not for me!

Just after we got married, we bought a new townhouse featuring a kitchen with lots of windows and open to the living room. Exactly two uppers and no pantry. We actually returned some wedding gifts when we realized that our kitchen stuff would not fit in the new kitchen (no dining room either.) That was 12 years and 3 kids ago and I’d trade a “fully stocked” to a pared down kitchen any day. We also live close to the Fred Meyer/Kroger and try to buy groceries as needed for the week — I’m even a bad Seattleite as we let our Costco membership expire since we don’t have room to stock up!

I remodeled my kitchen in 2014 with no uppers, no shelves. I love it and have zero regrets. It is gorgeous and open. I do have a big kitchen with lots of counter and drawers underneath. I cool a ton. I also have a pantry and a giant antique storage unit along a perpendicular wall that adds to my storage. Highly recommend no uppers.

Insane.
It’s a movement connected to the “Tiny” movement that says we should own 1 of everything or less. Including the kitchen spices mentioned below.
It’s part of the crowd with nothing to inherit saying you’re crazy to have that shelf in no one’s way that holds grandma’s China that you only take down at Xmas and mom’s Souffle bowl you keep for her when she downsized and now she uses 1 once a month at your house.

I like the look, but it just isn’t practical for me. My kitchen is small and I cook a lot so I need the upper space. I’m also tall and I don’t want to be bending over for everything. I like things at eye level.

Our house has the very standard 1996 kitchen. It is open concept across the back of the house through to the living space. The kitchen had most of the cabinets in a corner-along the 2 walls. It made it so dark to have so many cabinets. When we updated- i removed all of the uppers along one of the walls. So now there are no cabinets over the stove etc. and we installed a hood that actually vented outside in it’s place and left the rest open. I don’t miss them at all!
I think keeping just a couple for glasses/dishware and Cooking spices etc worked well for us.

I had a 16′ long galley kitchen in my last home. I remodeled in 2016 keeping one side with uppers, the other side had two ENORMOUS windows to the spacious backyard and I loved it! I only had a short backsplash on the wall with no uppers, no other art or tile. The windows were the perfect art, nothing else was needed. My cabinets were white and so were the walls and it felt spacious and lovely despite the narrow galley. I think a kitchen wall without uppers feel light and happy, but as in all design, it depends, some kitchens look better with uppers.

Hard pass. I have upper cabinets, but I also installed two shelves on an open wall in my kitchen. Everything on them DEFINITELY gets coated in grease and dust. I can’t imagine doing it with things I use on the regular and eat or cook out of; they mostly hold canisters of flour and other pantry staples, a bowl of fruit, and vases and decorative things. I’d never want to trade for either all open shelves or no shelves (having to bend down for everything!? No thanks.)

We are at the tail end of a kitchen remodel and we have zero uppers in our design. We made sure to add enough storage in our new island for all of our dishes and also added a tall pantry cabinet at the end next to our fridge. I think it is going to look great, and at the moment we have no set plans for open shelving. We will soon see how we like it 🙂

I’m team NO uppers, but I do like one shelf. Planning on removing the uppers in my reno, especially since the uppers are about 1/4 full now. Those items will easily fit on the one shelf with room for art and flowers. I cook twice a day, you really don’t need all the gadgets and knick-knacks everyone thinks you need. That goes for the whole house. Only keep the stuff you need or really enjoy having. It might be hard to part with some things, but once they’re donated, you won’t even remember you had them, and you’ll feel SO MUCH better.

My favorite look is having no uppers, lots of windows, and one wall with all your full height things, refrigerators, wall ovens, pantry space, etc. Even a counter space hidden behind doors to keep your toaster and blender easily accessible and plugged in, but out of sight.

With a generous budget I would always opt for uppers, because there are so many gorgeous cabinets out there that are as pretty as furniture! Think anything Devol. Gorgeous! However, if you find yourself unable to purchase beautifully crafted cabinetry, then I’d say spending a weekend ripping out old upper cabinetry and replacing with pretty tile would be so impactful and a relatively inexpensive way to go. There are plenty of creative storage solutions out there to deal with the less-hidden-space issue.

I think these look really nice and sleek. I like the minimalism. But I think they lose a lot of practicality. As a family of four with a small kitchen and no pantry, I don’t see how this could work for us. But if you had a bigger space (and lots of windows!) and a large pantry… maybe. Even then, though, it seems less efficient to walk to a pantry for a spice or an ingredient, rather than just reaching into the cabinet above.
I’m really torn on this! Thanks starting the conversation; to me it seems very similar to the ‘hiding all the appliances’ debate.

I have a small galley kitchen. One wall is void of upper cabinets. I lack storage, and am not a gadget person. I took off the doors to the one wall of uppers, and regret that. Room feels cluttered without doors.

We have only one single glass-fronted upper (for drinkware and pretty serving pieces) and we love it. The wall space is taken up by huge windows and the kitchen gets the best light in the house. Everything we need is in drawers, with lesser used plates, glasses, and appliances kept in garage cabinets for the two or three times a year we actually need them. We cook most nights, and this totally works for us — but we have a big kitchen, storage space in the garage, and we don’t have kids.

Here is the issue with no upper cabinets, and everyone that is designing them will run into it sooner or later. Their backs. Leaning over every time you need something may not mean anything to millennials or younger people, but as they age, their backs will go out, spine will become sick, pain will increase, and every time they bend over, they will curse the day they made the “no uppers” decision. I would never get rid of my uppers.

Excellent point, Karyn! I have a friend with a bad back whose kitchen only has a couple of uppers. I was admiring the feeling of spaciousness and she said it’s so painful for her, constantly bending over to get stuff out of the drawers. She’s also quite tall so uppers wouldn’t be inconvenient for her, like they are for some of us shorties.

I have no uppers, and no shelves – and it’s because I have a tiny galley kitchen that would be claustrophobic otherwise – the lack of uppers gives room to breathe.

I’m not a minimalist; I cook daily, have the range of my dreams and a deep, wide sink with an auto faucet, and the I can dedicate part of my basement as a pantry (bulk food storage, the items that aren’t used on a daily basis such as the 10 different tart pans, the specialized pastry equipment, extra wine glasses, etc.).

One of the things that makes this work for me? NO LOWER CABINETS.

Drawers are the way to go; drawers allow you to use every single inch, nothing is ever shoved to the back, you’re never crouching on the ground trying to slide things around and reach something in the corner. Deep, large drawers for plates and glasses, bowls and cups – don’t do a million 6″ drawers, but consider what you want to store, and get the drawer to match it.

We are coming out of the end our remodel and planned to do 2 wood floating shelves between our windows… and have just not had the time/money/energy. So we don’t have any uppers right now at all, but, it was an accident (we fall into that “looking like you just kind of gave up on construction/design halfway through” group… especially because we haven’t tiled a backsplash yet either). Photo evidence for those curious:

It’s been a nice experiment in minimalism, and works for us for now: we have no kids, and both work from home so we’re in the kitchen A LOT. I’m talking 3+ meals/day and snacks for two adults. And we were able to build in enough storage on the opposite wall (thanks, IKEA!) to make it work for us. It can be done!

We just gutted a kitchen in an old house and I *could not wait* to get our uppers in. We don’t have a pantry, and I had this strange feeling that it was vaguely gross to put food in the bottom cabinets. (Mainly open cereal boxes. Can’t explain it.) We actually switched a bank of glass-fronted uppers into closed cabinets during the process so the dry goods have a place to hang out unseen.

I find it funny when people ban the upper cabinets and then have to build an adjacent butler’s pantry to hold all their stuff. Why bother? Of all rooms in the house, shouldn’t the kitchen be about FUNCTION first and secondarily form?
Unless you never cook and only use it to order in take out. A place to chill your champagne. In that case, don’t do a kitchen. Save the space for your ultimate closet.

You make a good point that a kitchen has to function well! For most of us, a pretty space that didn’t function well would soon lose its appeal! It doesn’t have to be an either/or rule, though. The functional benefits I have noticed of no/few uppers are 1. the full depth of the counters are more easily used as workspace 2. no need for “under cabinet” lighting because light from overhead or windows (that aren’t boxed in by cabinets) reaches the counter 3. use of drawers prevents items getting lost behind what’s in front of them as they do on shelves—so i remember to use what I have 4. things I like to leave out don’t have to fit under the uppers (e.g. coffee maker, a few pretty trays and cutting boards) 5. wall space provides the opportunity to hang something interesting to look at—wall-hung knife block, a colander, (non-precious) art, etc. 6. being able to easily see and enjoy all my kitchen things makes it easier for me to get rid of things I don’t use, that take up an annoying amount of space, or that I don’t really like. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and enjoy it more when it is both efficient and pleasing to my eye. Different strokes for different folks, as always!

Was just about to pop in and say the same thing. I’m not necessarily jumping to do the no uppers thing at home (not that I’m renovating or anything, but if I were, I’d have to put some SERIOUS thought into what I really needed), but I think form and function can go hand in hand. Yes, a kitchen is a utilitarian space and needs to function first and foremost, but littering it with a ton of traditional cabinetry doesn’t necessarily mean it functions as well as a space with fewer cabinets that happen to have MUCH smarter internal components. What some companies are doing with drawers these days makes me want to basically say goodbye to all cabinets. More smart drawers, please!

I designed a small one-wall kitchen without upper cabinets (well, it has one 12-inch on the right of the stove for oils, etc.). Plates and glasses are on open shelves. The rest is stored European-style in two furniture pieces a primitive armoire and a sideboard. Food and dry goods all live in the pantry. I was a little nervous about it, but I love the uncluttered look and the kitchen is quite comfortable and functional.

We built a gorgeous custom home in Santa Fe in about 1995 with no upper cabinets. I loved it and did entertain a lot there. Having a pantry helped. It is just a great felling to have walls and windows instead. Helps with the breathing haha. Robbin Close

I’m pretty sure I don’t like it. I know I don’t like the open shelving and I’m not very excited about glass fronts. But I live in the country. Like 4 horses/11 goats/65 chickens/9 dogs/5 cats/1 donkey/1 pony live-in-the-country and my house gets super dirty. The open shelving gives me heart palpitations and the glass fronts stress me out because then whatever is inside needs to look nice. Aesthetically I adore the no upper-shelving, but I can’t help but wonder if that is only a good idea until you get to a certain age and then all that bending over to get stuff out of the lower cabinets isn’t so easy……

I renovated my kitchen three years ago and we have zero upper cabinets…and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It is so much more open (we do have a single shelf running above). I feel like it’s actually more functional because the things we use every day – dishes, glasses, salt and pepper, chemex, etc. – are easier to grab because they’re RIGHT THERE. I haven’t had any issues with dust/grime other than wiping down the shelves about once a month. If you put things on a shelf that you rarely use – that’s when you start to collect dust up there.

I will say the two key things to making it work are 1. Having a pantry (that’s where we keep all our countertop appliances) and 2. Not owning more than you need. We regularly go through kitchen cabinets and donate anything we don’t use. We cook every day and have two kids; our kitchen is medium-sized but even without uppers we have lots of storage space and even empty drawers! I’m on team no-uppers forever :).

Of course it depends on your overall storage and ventilation and style, but I happen to love my open shelves (walnut butcher block). We have a walk through kitchen, one side has uppers and one side the open shelving. I love the quick access to things that open shelves provide. And the ability to display pretty objects and plants is wonderful. I am lucky to have a walk in pantry and plenty of storage, so that’s what makes our situation work. So many nice options.

I’ve been in my house for 10 years, without uppers, but I have a hanging pot rack near the stove, and a suspended jelly cabinet on another wall for glassware. Like the last two minimalist kitchens in your post, my kitchen does not have a hood, which is not practical when occasionally something overcooks and smoke up the house. Nothing like the battle to get the smoke out of the kitchen, before it reaches the smoke detector without the help of ventilation. Lastly, while, I’m a wanna be minimalist, its been years, since my counters were clear of clutter.

I’d love to remodel my kitchen. Honestly, what I’d really love is to have you remodel my kitchen, but I am leaning towards adding upper cabinets, and definitely wanting ventilation!!

Great post! I started without upper cabinets on my cookline wall. 2 years later and i am ordering some uppers – the unkitchen was a nice look for a while but Im moving onto to muillion glass uppers simply for the storage and to define the space around the vent hood. In hind sight i wish i had done large pocket doors that could open and then conceal that entire cook wall.

As someone with a tiny apartment kitchen, cabinets will always be a favorite for me. I appreciate the streamlined clean look of the no-uppers but I would never implement it. I’m forever scarred from my tiny apartment no matter what size kitchen I’ll move up to from here.

I only have open shelves and the bottoms are all drawers. I used the ikea system and spent 2 days really plotting out what owned and how to store it, including one drawer dedicated to our ugly plates we used daily. But I also don’t buy extra stuff for the kitchen unless it will have a “home” that isn’t the counter. It takes a ton of self control but my kitchen sure is pretty.

If you don’t like them, I suggest getting rid of those plates as soon as possible! Even on a tight budget, there are all kinds of beautiful dishes available at junk shops/garage sales/thrift stores for next to nothing—and kids can use nice-looking inexpensive things once they are past the dish-throwing stage.
Having plates you like isn’t an absolute necessity, but enjoying the look of something you use every day adds a bit of pleasure to the routine. Something to consider, anyway….

We didn’t give up all our upper cabinets but we have a kitchen with 3 walls and only have uppers on the shortest side where our stove resides. Essentially we have two 2-door upper cabinets on that wall.

I find it a perfect balance of having space to breathe and space to store items.

Our long wall has a large window and ledges with art. Our other short wall has our son’s magnet and chalk board.

Granted, we have a decent island with lots of storage but I love the balance of uppers and space we’ve got in our kitchen now.

I love the now upper cabinet trend. I don’t think I could go that far, am definitely trying to talk the hubs into open shelving for uppers. I don’t care if I have to wipe stuff off once a week or not…I want the openness and minimalist feel of it. I want more light in my kitchen and I need a reason to purge that darn coffee mug cabinet…I don’t even drink coffee!!

I love the no uppers look if there is something interesting going on one those blank walls. Windows, gorgeous tile or light fixtures.

I’m putting open shelves in my new kitchen (had them in the last kitchen too). I cook a lot but shop nearly every day. And We rarely cook meat. And we have a display-worthy Heath dinnerware collection.

I love it as long as there’s somewhere for dinnerware, mugs, glasses and kitchen staples to hide — somewhere like a pantry storage wall. No open shelving means no grease floating about, settling on things, and making a sticky mess. Even the best exhaust hood can’t prevent that. And no uppers creates an opportunity for more windows and more light to shine in.

We recently remodeled our kitchen in our extremely small home, and the first thing I knew was that I didn’t want uppers. In a small space it can really box in the kitchen and make it seem so heavy. Now, our kitchen is open and much lighter. We have two walls of base cabinets, and a wall with two floor to ceiling cabinets with the refrigerator built in. (IKEA/Semihandmade) It holds plenty, with room to spare – and yes, we cook happily in there three times a day!

Love these kitchens!! We’re mad about cooking and cook on a daily basis… BUT our current rental has just 6 small cupboards for kitchen storage. It took us years (literally!!) to work out what we needed and didn’t need in our kitchen but now as a family of 4 with 2 little ones we fit everything comfortably into those 6 cupboards and love the clutter free environment. You don’t have to be a takeaway fiend to live in a clutter free kitchen – and I’m 100% pro the bottom cabinets only look – even better if they’re drawers rather than cabinets – just so you can reach the things at the back without scraping around on your hands and knees 😀

Oh no, I do not care for the completely open space on top, its kinda like and entire wall in your house with nothing on it, just plain and kind of boring, I don’t mind a shelf or two with a couple cupboards but I have to have something in that space. But the great thing is we are all different and like and choose different things, and that’s OK. Some may love the look, and some(like me) may not, to each his own, do what makes you happy, not others!!

No uppers would be a big adjustment, but having a wall of windows would be wonderful. Or beautiful tile if it’s an interior wall. I would only consider it if there was space for a large walk-in pantry. And the lower cabinets were all pull-out drawers. No open shelving, that makes me shudder, haha. Ditto with glass-front cabinets. We’ve moved a lot in the last 7 years (cross-country, and then several local moves) and got rid of so much stuff. I still have lots of kitchen items but use everything since I cook a lot, and everything is made from scratch (husband has food allergies). We are in an apartment now but dream of owning a small home some day with my dream (contemporary) kitchen.

YES! This is what I want my kitchen to be like. It is so energy-draining (new Avery bough?) to be met with that chunk of cabinets staring you in the face, and it makes kitchens feel so closed in.

I hope that what I’m planning won’t be too much busy-ness at eye level. Here’s what I’m thinking:

One cabinet—only one and it is magic—above the sink with a dish-drainer instead of a floor. That is where our everyday plates and bowls will go. A shelf with cookbooks on top and stemware hanging from it (upside down— no dust). A microwave/convection combo with a fan on the bottom above the stove. A potrack or pegboard next to or near the stove.

Over near the table will be a glass-front cabinet with serving pieces. We only use it when there are more than two people here. Food will go in a pull-out pantry, next to the fridge, coffee mugs on hooks underneath an island. Trays and cookie sheets in töekick drawers.

There will be lower cabinets, mostly for cleaning supplies, trash & recycling (in lovely pull-out bins I couldn’t afford it I bought upper cabinets), a dishwasher, and things for baking.

We took most of our upper cabinets down when we moved into our house. We repainted the cabinets whiteband it looks so great! It makes the kitchen look so much bigger. We left upper on one side wall for glasses plates etc and because it’s a side wall it looks open.

My kitchen has a lovely arched window with a spectacular view, so I plan to remove the upper cabinets flanking it. The lower cupboards will be replaced with drawers and toe-kick drawers. I’m lucky enough to have a pantry so don’t believe storage will be a problem.
I do regularly edit the kitchen tools/dishes etc. down to only what I actually use which makes cooking more streamlined and enjoyable.

Walls with no upper cabinets… shelves instead of cabinets? It may look great, light and airy, but I question how practical it really is…. I can see how one that does not cook a lot it could work, but for those who LOVE to cook, it seems rather ridiculous. Upper cabinets are a cooks essential for oils, herbs and other frequently used items. They also serve to keep items away from dust and kitchen grease which does accumulate if you are one that loves to cook despite how heavy duty your kitchen exhaust fan may be…..but then there will always be those that want a kitchen that “looks” like they cook, and those that prefer a kitchen that is meant for more than just looking good…

I definitely do not like the look of a stark wall with only hanging sconces. I like having cabinets above, but also wouldn’t mind having fewer cabinets and some open shelving or the look that you have in your kitchen. I also think that just windows with a nice view would be okay, just not a bare tiled or painted wall in the space.

My new house which we built 2 years ago has no uppers cupboards in the kitchen. BUT we have a huge pantry where all our excess stuff is tucked away.
I love the streamlined look in the kitchen and because I’m not tall I don’t miss having storage above my waist!

Lol! I’ve been living without upper cabinets for over 20 years, and always had to endure the “so when are you guys finishing your kitchen?” question. I’m almost tempted to put some in BECAUSE everyone is chucking them! I do have to say, though, that I got away with this because I have a cellar (quite rare in SoCal) and a turned a coat closet into a pantry, when I wasn’t willing to run down to said cellar for every can anymore. I live in a little ol’ farmhouse from the 20″s in the middle of the seemingly last orange groves. I just couldn’t bring myself to impose the de rigueur of a gazillion cabinets to this humble space. I love how the morning light wanders across the unencumbered walls, and am willing to put up with a bit of inconvenience to enjoy this. Every morning

Interesting article. I love the look. But, have you noticed that these pics, and most of the pics I’ve seen online where “no uppers” are featured, all seem to show really big kitchens with TONS of storage space regardless?? I could fit all the stuff in my lower *and* uppers in all that lower space. Sadly, my kitchen is way too small to entertain the idea of no uppers, but I think it is a very pretty look if you can get away with it!

I have no uppers, just a marble backsplash behind the range and windows flanking. pots/pans, plates, everything in drawers down below. rev-a-shelf inserts to help organize/stabilize everything. it looks awesome and I don’t miss uppers at all!

I did something similar to my present kitchen. I removed uppers, left only two small ones on either side of the stovetop, added open shelves to one area for dishes I use daily. My solution to storage was to replace lower cabinets with all drawers, most of them deep with full extension guides. This allows more storage and easy accesibillty. I will never go back to upper not lower cabinets.

I love the look, but can’t imagine going topless. I have given up *some* wall space in exchange for more daylight in the last two kitchens, but I can’t imagine not having uppers. I cook a lot, and don’t have a pantry. Even inside cabinets, glasses collect grime, and my husband and I are the recipients of a combined 30place setting of China, not to mention our everyday things. I went to the ceiling (10’) and have glass in the top 2’ where we display a lot of the China and crystal. I have an all white kitchen, so it’s still pretty zen.

I grew up in New Zealand in a house that was built in 1910. Mum renovated in the ‘80s to create a lovely big farmhouse style kitchen. No uppers, no wall shelves.
In 2008 I bought a ‘70s ranch house with lovely exposed wood ceilings. Very first thing I did was rip out the uppers with my own hands.
Now in a condo in downtown Vancouver. We’ve just renovated and have no uppers, one wall shelf. We don’t even have a microwave. LOVE IT.
In short, I think the simple style works with a variety of architecture. I love that it forces us not to buy excessive kitchen junk.

Team No Uppers. My kitchen has both uppers and lowers EXCEPT on the small counter surface right next to the stove – that piece only has lowers. And where do I do 95% of my chopping/counter use? On that one lil’ spot with no uppers. Even when I am cooking something that requires no stove or oven so proximity is not the driving factor for using that spot. I can see why an avid cook might want the uppers for extra storage, but this avid cook wants the headspace/brainspace/breathing space that no uppers allow while I do muh work!

We moved to a new house that had a remodeled kitchen with very few uppers and a large island. It’s open to the family room and the dining room and I have come to hate it. We cook every day, so keeping the island completely uncluttered (which is the only way it looks good) is stressful and time consuming. We’re tall, so I miss just reaching up for things. If someone is getting ice out of the freezer or opening a bag of snacks in the kitchen, anyone watching TV in the family room has to pause the program or miss some dialogue. While hosting Thanksgiving it’s impossible to not have visible dirty pots and pans. I also hate feeling like I’m hosting a cooking show. I want to cook alone, in my secret laboratory with my gadgets and everything within easy reach. My dream kitchen would be compact, super functional, with lots of very well thought out storage, a fantastic work triangle and the ability to sit and enjoy dinner and not have to look at a dirty kitchen. I’m definitely on team closed kitchen, Instagram be damned.

Yes! One of the House Hunters Renovations showed a smallish house redone with a completely open kitchen. If you were in the living room it was like you were sitting in the kitchen — no way to avoid it. Also, with the whole space opened up it looks a renovated garage to me.

Frankly, I’m getting tired of “the next trend.” It’s a kitchen! I’m a lover of vintage, hoarder of ceramics and a color fanatic. What could be duller than no uppers and sadder than no storage? Food tastes better on pretty plates and kids learn how to appreciate nice things by using them. Life is short, vanilla isn’t memorable.

I think it looks too minimal and boring! Even if I had space for all my stuff in the lower cabinets, I still would not do it. I need SOMETHING on the upper half of the wall like shelves or windows to make it feel less stark.

My kitchen is larger than most standard kitchens, however even with one whole wall of no uppers but a view to die for, I still have plenty of room. Having uppers to me is not an excuse to keep stuff you never use, as you mentioned. I have 2 small uppers and one is 1/2 empty.

We are having no uppers! But we do have a big window with a beautiful ocean view and A reasonable sized kitchen. I’m very good at being clutter free and in all honesty I am too short to reach the uppers and never use them! We might have one shelve though, purely to help it look finished. I’ll have to buy pretty teas or bowls just to put something on it. Sounds like the opposite problem to most of you!

We have no upper cabinets in our kitchen, and I absolutely love it! The fridge, food cabinet and ovens (yes, we have two) are all gather on one wall, while the three remaining walls are bare. My husband and I love to cook, and we often have huge dinner parties. Everything we need is stored in large drawers. But it must be said that we try to limit ourselves to only what we need. When we redid our kitchen a year ago we discovered that we had so many unnecessary things. Did we really need three cheese graters (one is enough!), the 10-year-old never used pasta machine is gone, and all but our favorite serving dishes and frying pans are gone. De cluttered house, de cluttered life (goes for clothing and other things as well). And yes, we are European (more specific Scandinavian).

We renovated our galley-style kitchen last year and designed it to open up more to the adjacent living area. We have uppers along the wall-side, and only lower cabinets and drawers on the other two sides. Above the side facing the livwing area we installed « verrières d’artiste » or artist’s windows to let in more light and create some separation. We love it and have tons of storage (for a French apartment, at least)!

I do agree the shelves look clean and neat in a “model” but in a real life, functioning kitchen, would it? How crazy would it make you if something was out of place, or how about all the dust and cobwebs that would appear on your dishes, and would be openly visible to everyone! Another weekly dusting job!!

We have open shelves and I love them. They make me realize how little we actually use on a day to day basis. So we’ve been able to get rid of a bunch of useless stuff we never use. They’re on the opposite wall from the stove so no grease and grime ever makes it over there. I would never go to no upper cabinets though. I like having my plates/glasses/etc. at arm’s length. I don’t know that I’d ever go back to upper cabinets for that reason too. Digging through cupboards holds no interest for me. For lowers it’s fine because that’s where we keep our small appliances and pans. Uppers? No way.

I have very strong opinions about a kitchen without upper cabinets. It is like Holly Golightly sans her tiara, sunglasses, jewels and cigarette holder! Ack! Just her little black (albeit, beautifully fitting) dress and long black gloves are, well… meh! While I see room for blank wall space to give the eye a rest, I think a few glass front cabinets are a much better option. Certainly to keep grime out, but more to lighten and open up the space without going bonkers by eliminating uppers altogether. Even with a miss-mash of items behind glass (or textured glass) doors, the cabinet seems to contain and provide order. I have a small kitchen (with a few glass uppers) and have paired my “must haves” down several times over the years. But having no uppers would send me into vapors!

More power to those who can manage in these minimalist kitchens. However, it likely works because they have the local take-outs on speed dial. 😉 Or they’ve doubled-up the sleeping arrangements for their children, and converted the extra bedroom into a walk-in pantry. That is not a long term solution to family harmony! As I said… Strong opinions.

Not a fan of absolutely no uppers; it looks cold and industrial to me, which isn’t my vibe. But I also find no uppers to be inpractical (tyou mentioned grease and dust). Seems a look for a cleaning nut or someone with staff.

No uppers looks unbalanced to me — too bare. Plus, I’m a practical girl with zero interest in wiping cookings oils and dust off of whatever decorative stuff winds up on those minimalist shelves. I mean, it’s enough of a pain to have to wipe down the cupboard fronts and knobs regularly. All the stuff stored in our high upper cupboards are the things we use for Holiday cooking/serving and can’t be purged. I predict a short-lived trend — but I’m often wrong. 😉

The no uppers kitchen is wonderful in many ways, but for me they weren’t the most attractive kitchens in this post. I somehow missed the just one shelf trend and I have to say… I’m actually *craving* a one shelf kitchen. I actually gasped out loud when I saw it (I’m maybe a tad dramatic). I was always “just friends” with the open shelving concept, but now I’m head over heels in love with just one shelf.

I do see how the no uppers could be problematic for some, but as an interior designer myself I can see potential applications for nearly every design choice. I think I prefer one shelf over no uppers because it allows you to put elements at eye level without having a permanent application like sconces (although those sconces were delightful). I like being able to change out accent pieces as the mood strikes and a single shelf makes that easy.

Back to thinking eco friendly folks, lots of landfill for cabinets, then redoing walls, more materials used, then the trend dies.. as you point out they do. another remodel required. Im sticking with what has always worked. Can we have a post on modifications that are easy, eco friendly and likely to last?? I liked the ones that used paint to visually create different effect. ( that great deep blue, in the topless kitchen? that is my current bottom cabinet color!)
I like Emilys’ and my own, shaker cabinets, some glass doors and unique style features that don’t date . I did my kitchen in 93. My glass doored cabinets have open cubes under them, ( I painted the back wall pink THEN, now isn’t that current? ). I did dark brown concrete counters. and they are still working for me . I did marmoleum floors w/ a parcay (SP?) line . Ive changed art, light fixtures and painted cabinets, but it all still makes me happy and has style.
It helps that my house is a hundred years old this year, but I still say avoid trends and go with unique style cause it lasts.

What has always worked isn’t uppers and lowers, though. The modern look of a kitchen with uppers and lowers packed with things is much more modern and has become the style since advertising looks for kitchens began (40s). Before that, kitchens were unfitted. I think the most eco friendly thing would be to be as minimal as possible. Don’t do no uppers for the trend, do it to pare down to the things that are truly necessary in a kitchen. Keep the lowers you have, donate the uppers.

People don’t need twenty different pots and pans or ten electrical appliances. We have uppers and the only two that are consistently used are plates, which take up two shelves, and glasses, which take up three. I cook 90% of the time and function easily without all the extra junk. When we redid we got rid of a microwave and toaster too, and have found that they were completely unnecessary. A stove and oven do whatever we need..

I think the reason you see this more in Europe is because most European homes are modeled after a much older look. A country cottage looks appropriate with no uppers because it likely had none at some point if it is an older home. In homes built in 1950 to 2015, a house might seem to need uppers, but that is just a long-lived trend.

I’m all for no uppers and less stuff. Display the China in the dining room, keep the things you use in the kitchen, and get rid of anything that never sees use. Although I think many things in modern American homes are useless, like having both a family room and living room, or living in 3500+ square feet with anything less than a family of 8 or more. More stuff, more space, more more more. I think everyone could use a lesson in living with less and getting more out of it.

I originally did no uppers at our vacation house, figuring that I didn’t need much storage since cooking was more basic. That kitchen is STUNNING but I will admit that it is a bit of a pain- I have a few shelves but kids can’t reach them and all the big serving pieces for parties hog up so much space. Still, I love the look so I don’t have many regrets. In my new house, I went with the same look without hesitating. We are a family of 5 and I managed a few more base cabinets after really working over the plan to optimize the space. The thing that really makes it workable tho is having a walk-in pantry/mudroom next door. All the bulk items are there, juice and water. There is an extra sink, vases and weird serving pieces are stored on shelves, and rarely used appliances like the popcorn maker, fondue pot, and baby- food machine are set on the counter. My experience says a back kitchen/pantry is the key to making it work. Anyways, now that homes are all open plan and the party is always in the kitchen, it makes more sense to keep the ugly stuff behind a closed door while the kitchen is more of s showpiece.

I’m planning a new kitchen right now, and it’s a long straight room which be a large galley kitchen. I plan for one side to be a mixture of full height storage and lower cabinets, and the opposite wall to be just lower cabinets. I have been toying with adding just one shelf on that wall (I didn’t even realise this was a ‘thing’, just seen it and liked it!) but I think I’ll do nice sconces and an oil painting instead. My main aim is to make my kitchen look as un-kitcheny as possible! (and yes, we cook every single day, and often have 20+ guests for dinner parties). I’m lucky to have a utility room off the kitchen which I will be able to use for kitchen storage too.

(having read this is a trend is offputting though… I do not want a trendy kitchen!! I also want green cabinets which is being proclaimed ‘very 2018’ too…)

I’ve lived in apartments for my entire adult life and have to deal with all kinds of storage situations–from having very little storage in Japan and China to having a decent amount in the U.S. In China our kitchen was so small that we had to put the fridge in another room 🙂 We’ve also had to put a “coffee station” in the living room a few times. In my dream kitchen I might forgo *some* of the uppers (esp if there were lots of windows), but I’d also want another wall that had cabinets from floor to ceiling. Another thing I’d like (which I don’t think anyone mentioned) would be a rack or shelf for storing pots and hanging pans. I do *not* like putting pans away under the counter–I want all my “tools” to be in sight and at hand.

I only have open shelving in my kitchen and it’s been a relationship saver. With cabinets, there’s that extra step required to open and close them…which my husband and son can’t handle. They’re more grab-something-off-the-shelf type of guys. PLUS, it eliminates all the “mom, where is the…” or “can you help me find the…” questions.

I think it depends on the space and both can look absolutely gorgeous. However, generally, I feel like uppers are easier to have for a functioning kitchen. It’s much easier to stand and get things from a cabinet at eye level than to constantly bending down and squatting to get things out of the lower cabinets.

Being 6’1″, upper cabinets are easier to reach for me, but I can see how someone shorter wouldn’t think they’re as convenient. I do have back problems as well, so crouching down to reach something or trying to dig for something in the back of a deep lower cabinet is not fun. In this case for me function definitely trumps form.

I have just finished our kitchen renovation – an open plan galley kitchen with no uppers. We have windows and art on the wall side of the galley, and a 14 ft long island running down the center. We have a full height pantry cabinet for food, spices and breakfast/teamaking supplies and built in fridge on the third side. We have absolutely no storage issues, although I do subscribe to the theory of only keeping what I love or use. As for constantly bending down, this is not the case – all storage is in roll-out shelves or drawers and I am finding it so much easier than reaching up into upper cabinets. I was very inspired by deVOL and Plain English and love the simplicity and timelessness of their designs.

This trend is a dealbreaker for me. I’ve been looking for a home for the last six months and kitchens without uppers keep popping up. It feels like a design shortcut to me and severely limits the functionality of many kitchens. It may be better suited to larger spaces, but in relatively modest spaces, I am left panicking about where to put everything that comes with a kitchen, including food! (Several of the homes I’ve seen that lack upper cabinets also lack a proper pantry!) In summary: Give me all the cabinets! And a pantry, too!

My husband thinks I’m allergic to upper cabinets. It’s just my kitchen is so small! I’ve hung a huge vintage mirror in there and it feels great. There are only two of us and everything fits easily into the lower cabinets and the old, built in china cabinet.

I vote for uppers. Bending down to get everything is not great as we age and our backs are not what they used to be. I purged when I remodeled and still need the space and convenience uppers provide. Glass front cabinets and a wall of windows provide plenty of light

The problem with having room is… you use it to the max! I just bought a house and we are going to remove all upper cabinets. I cook everyday for my family and I only need he basics. Why do we need 20 plates, 20 glasses, 15 pots and pans, … ? My pans and utensils are on a pot rack, I buy fresh everyday with a no waste policy, … . I’m teaching my family to live as minimal as possible and save a few bugs for pension, dining, traveling, …

Ahhhhhh!!! Nice article, my husband and I just built a house and decided to not go with uppers. We have a pantry for the bulk of our food and small appliances. Our dishes and pans are in draws in the kitchen, as well as our regular everyday staples. I absolutely love not having uppers. It allows me to utilize more counter space as a prep area as I am a person who enjoys cooking and entertaining.

I’m not opposed to the streamlined design, but I feel like all of these no-uppers kitchens look short. It’s very bottom heavy and feels “off,” like there’s high gravity and everything is sinking into the floor.

It’s possible to do a combination. We had a U shaped kitchen in our old house and one side of the U had upper cabinets (part of the built in fridge cabinets and the rest had no uppers. It worked beautifully. Most of our stuff was in the lowers so the kids could access it and if we couldn’t reach something in a higher shelf on the one side, we just had one stool there that could accomodate. No uppers look so much neater and cleaner and it’s much more kid friendly and short people friendly.

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Emily is a stylist, author and T.V. host with a strong commitment to vintage inspired approachable home style for every single person. Perfection is boring; Let’s get weird. learn more

Interior Design Blog by Youxi988

I started this interior design blog in 2010 as a journal of my style and home projects with the belief that design should be approachable, informational and accessible no matter what budget.

As a home style expert who has a strong commitment to peeling back the intimidating layers of the world of home decor, and showing how every person can have a beautiful home that represents their personality, no matter what the budget.

After styling for magazines and catalogues for years, I started my own interior design blog, won HGTV Design Star, and have gone on to host my own hit TV show Secrets from a Stylist, Author the book STYLED, and create the design firm Youxi988 Design.

My motto has always been to write and publish on my blog what I personally want to read about.